The Xiao Family! Xiao Huohuo!

The Ao Cheng Family.

In the open space before the main hall, banquet tables were set up.

Torches crackled, spitting sparks, and the rich aroma of meat and wine filled the air.

A group of beautiful, shapely dancers performed with light, graceful movements.

In front of the dancers, a group of middle-aged men chatted and laughed, raising their cups.

And among those conversing here were the high-level members of the Ao Cheng Family and the Liu Family!

In the center of everyone, a middle-aged man in black was surrounded.

The words spoken by the old men around him seemed to resonate deeply with the middle-aged man, causing him to laugh heartily.

Ao Cheng Nan, holding his wine cup, approached Liu Cheng respectfully and said:

"Brother Liu, I'll toast you."

"With Brother Liu's name backing us, even if we encroach upon the Xiao Family like this, they won't dare to retaliate."

"My Ao Cheng Family owes its current success to Brother Liu!"

After sharing a drink with Liu Cheng, Ao Cheng Nan's lips were practically stretched to the back of his ears.

In these past decades in Dongli City, he had never had a day as comfortable and joyous as this one.

Liu Qing also came to their side, raising his wine cup and saying:

"Now, our Ao and Liu families have already taken over nearly half of the Xiao Family's markets."

"Even businesses related to the Xiao Family have been driven back by us."

"With the Xiao Family's markets constantly being harassed, their other businesses will slowly become unsustainable."

"Those Xiao Family turtles don't dare to fight back at all."

"If this continues, it will likely only take a few months for the Ao Cheng Family to replace the Xiao Family and become the new master of Dongli City."

"And my Liu Family will also become the second-largest clan in Dongli!"

"I'll toast Brother Liu."

Saying this, Liu Qing also drank his cup.

Liu Cheng, however, let out a cold snort and said indifferently:

"If you ask me, your courage is still too small."

"It's merely a city lord."

"Expand as you please; with me, Liu Cheng, around, they absolutely won't dare to act presumptuously!"

The high-level members of the Ao Cheng and Liu families nearby heard this, and their smiles grew even wider, as they all praised him loudly:

"Lord Liu is correct."

"With those four early-stage Houtian martial artists from the Xiao Family, how could they dare to act presumptuously before you?"

"As long as you are here in our Ao Cheng Family, even if the Xiao Family had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to act presumptuously and could only accept it obediently."

Listening to everyone's flattery, Liu Cheng felt a bit elated.

Suddenly, a row of torches beside them clattered and fell to the ground.

Two figures were seen lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

They were actually guards from their Ao Cheng Family!

The smile on Ao Cheng Nan's face sank, and he roared furiously:

"Who has no eyes to dare to lay hands on my Ao Cheng Family?!"

Everyone was greatly startled and stopped.

They looked at the burning torches lying on the ground. The flames ignited the carpet on the ground, and the fire immediately surged up, illuminating the entire courtyard brightly.

In front of the torches, a figure walked in, and their face gradually became clear with the flickering firelight.

Under everyone's gaze, a youngster slowly walked up to them, speaking in a flippant tone:

"Yo, everyone."

"Not sleeping this late at night, gathering here to have a Spring and Autumn Dream?"

Ao Cheng Nan looked at the youngster before him, his expression filled with shock and uncertainty:

"Xiao Huohuo, why did you, a waste, come here?"

His eyes scanned Xiao Huohuo from side to side.

The two guards who were knocked down were both second-rate martial artists.

And everyone in Dongli City knew that Xiao Huohuo had been stuck at the third-rate martial artist level for many years.

These two guards could not possibly have been defeated by Xiao Huohuo.

Thinking of this, the corner of his mouth curved into an arc.

"The Xiao family has finally lost patience."

Ao Cheng Nan shouted coldly towards Xiao Huohuo's back:

"Xiao Zhan, since you're here, stop hiding."

For a long time, there was no response from the surroundings. Ao Cheng Nan couldn't help but frown.

Just as he was about to speak again, he saw Xiao Huohuo shrug his shoulders:

"Stop looking, I'm the only one who came tonight."

Upon hearing this, Ao Cheng Nan was stunned at first, then sneered:

"Just you?"

"Young City Lord, who in Dongli City doesn't know about your peerless talent, Xiao Huohuo?"

"Ten years of cultivation, still stuck as a third-rate martial artist, a waste."

"You expect to sneak into my Ao Cheng family quietly?"

"You must have been reading some storybooks and haven't woken up yet, have you?!"

As Ao Cheng Nan's voice fell, the people from the Ao Cheng family behind him also burst into laughter.

They all knew that Xiao Huohuo loved reading storybooks and dreaming of finding reclusive experts.

Despite being mocked by everyone, Xiao Huohuo wasn't angry. Instead, he waved his hand:

"I can't be considered a peerless genius?"

"At most, I'm just an ordinary genius."

"A little stronger than all of you, an ordinary genius."

At the back of the banquet, there was another burst of thunderous laughter.

The high-level members of both families saw the young man's serious expression and burst into laughter.

Even Ao Cheng Nan found it amusing and mocked:

"Alright, Xiao Zhan, hurry up and come out."

"Otherwise, I can't guarantee what kind of accident might happen to your foolish son."

Seeing that everyone looked unconvinced, Xiao Huohuo said no more. He simply took a step forward, and a terrifying aura immediately erupted from his body.

The dark red air waves stirred, like a prehistoric beast, shaking away the firelight and silencing the surroundings.

Everyone was stunned by this terrifying aura, falling silent and just staring.

The young man's faint voice echoed throughout the banquet:

"To deal with trash fish like you, my father doesn't need to make a move."

Xiao Huohuo's gaze swept past everyone and landed on a youth in their midst. He questioned:

"Are you that Houtian mid-stage swordsman?"

"Is that the confidence that allows the Ao Cheng family to be so unscrupulous?"

"I'll give you a chance."

"Whatever you've taken from the Xiao family, spit it all out, and come to the Xiao family mansion to apologize."

"Only then might I consider letting you go."

"Otherwise..."

In the gloom, Xiao Huohuo's eyes flashed with a captivating glint.

Every high-level member he looked at on the scene felt as if they were being watched by a prehistoric beast, their scalps tingling.

The members of the Ao Cheng family and Liu family swallowed their saliva, looking at the young man before them in disbelief.

Wasn't this Xiao Huohuo always a waste?

How did he suddenly become so terrifying?

Ao Cheng Nan stared gloomily at Xiao Huohuo, his face uglier than a pig's liver.

This kid had been hiding his strength all along... He was actually a Houtian realm martial artist!?

A Houtian realm martial artist under twenty years old, there hadn't been one in all of Dongli City before, had there?

Such talent was truly too terrifying.

Ao Cheng Nan took a deep breath and sneered:

"A Houtian realm martial artist at sixteen years old, the Xiao family truly knows how to hide things."

Behind him, Liu Qing, who had been silent, stepped forward and said sinisterly:

"This child must not be kept alive!"